New Jersey-2016-S1746-Introduced

An Act establishing a School Asthma Protocol Task Force.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. The Legislature finds and declares that:

a. Asthma is a serious and chronic lung condition that makes breathing difficult; and asthmatic triggers, such as cigarette smoke, pollen or dust, cause an asthmatic person's airways to become irritable or narrow and the lungs to become inflamed or swollen and sensitive, which causes wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath or chest tightness;

b. Asthma affects people of all races and ethnic groups, and is one of the leading causes of missed school and work days in the United States;

c. Asthma can adversely affect both a child's ability to attend school and to learn while in school, and there are many cases in which children who experience asthma attacks are unable to attend class because the school cannot accommodate their needs;

d. The Pediatric Asthma Reduction Effort (PARE), with funding from the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has implemented an asthma intervention and education program in the cities of Passaic and Newark and is working to develop a school asthma protocol that would be tailored to the specific needs of each child with asthma;

e. The PARE school asthma protocol will be designed to improve management of asthma care among primary care providers, schools, recreation programs, families and managed care organizations in order to make non-emergency asthma care accessible, appropriate and user-friendly for asthmatic children and their families; and

f. The State should encourage the Statewide implementation of the PARE school asthma protocol, so as to facilitate the provision of individualized treatment plans for all students with asthma in New Jersey.

2. a. There is established a School Asthma Protocol Task Force, which shall be responsible for developing guidelines for the most appropriate and effective means of implementing the PARE school asthma protocol on a Statewide basis.

b. The task force shall consist of 16 members as follows: the Commissioners of Education and Health and Senior Services or their designees as ex officio members, and 14 public members to be appointed by the Governor as follows: four persons who are parents of children with asthma who are attending a public or nonpublic
elementary or secondary school, of whom two each shall be appointed upon the recommendation of the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the General Assembly, respectively; a licensed physician who is a pulmonary specialist, to be appointed upon the recommendation of the Medical Society of New Jersey; a licensed pediatrician, to be appointed upon the recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics-New Jersey Chapter; a certified school nurse, to be appointed upon the recommendation of the New Jersey State School Nurses Association; an advanced practice nurse certified in pediatric nursing, to be appointed upon the recommendation of the New Jersey State Nurses Association; a school administrator, to be appointed upon the recommendation of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators; a public school teacher, to be appointed upon the recommendation of the New Jersey Education Association; a public school principal or supervisor, to be appointed upon the recommendation of the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association; a local school board member, to be appointed upon the recommendation of the New Jersey School Boards Association; a representative of a nonpublic school; and a representative of the American Lung Association. At least four public members each shall be appointed from the northern, central, and southern regions of the State, respectively.

c. All appointments to the task force shall be made no later than the 60th day after the effective date of this act. Vacancies in the membership of the task force shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments were made. The members of the task force shall serve without compensation.

d. The task force shall organize as soon as practicable following the appointment of its members and shall select a chairperson and a vice-chairperson from among its members, as well as a secretary who need not be a member of the task force.

3. The Department of Education shall provide staff and related support services to the task force. The task force shall also be entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the employees of any State, county or municipal department, board, bureau, commission or agency as it may require and as may be available to it for its purposes.

4. a. The task force may meet and hold hearings at the place or places it designates during the sessions or recesses of the Legislature and shall present its guidelines to the State Board of Education no later than six months after the date of organization of the task force.

b. After review by the State board, the Department of Education shall disseminate the guidelines to all public school districts and nonpublic schools. The department shall periodically update the guidelines as required to incorporate revised protocols on the care of students with asthma.

5. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire on the 30th day after the task force presents its guidelines to the State Board of Education pursuant to subsection a. of section 4 of this act.

STATEMENT

This bill establishes a 16-member School Asthma Protocol Task Force to develop guidelines for the most appropriate and effective means of implementing the Pediatric Asthma Reduction Effort (PARE) school asthma protocol on a Statewide basis.

The membership of the task force would include: the Commissioners of Education and Health and Senior Services or their designees as ex officio members, and 14 public members to be appointed by the Governor as follows: four persons who are parents of children with asthma who are attending a public or nonpublic school, of whom two each would be appointed upon the recommendation of the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the General Assembly, respectively; a licensed physician who is a pulmonary specialist, as recommended by the Medical Society of New Jersey; a licensed pediatrician, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics-New Jersey Chapter; a certified school nurse, as recommended by the New Jersey State School Nurses Association; an advanced practice nurse certified in pediatric nursing, as recommended by the New Jersey State Nurses Association; a school administrator, as recommended by the New Jersey Association of School Administrators; a public school teacher, as recommended by the New Jersey Education Association; a public school principal or supervisor, as recommended by the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association; a local school board member, as recommended by the New Jersey School Boards Association; a representative of a nonpublic school; and a representative of the American Lung Association. At least four public members each would be appointed from the northern, central, and southern regions of the State, respectively.

The bill further requires that the task force present its guidelines to the State Board of Education no later than six months after the date of its organization. After review by the State board, the Department of Education (DOE) would disseminate the guidelines to all public school districts and nonpublic schools. DOE is to periodically update the guidelines as required to incorporate revised protocols on the care of students with asthma.

The bill stipulates that DOE would provide staff and related support services to the task force.